Coloring crayons are
one of the best and least expensive things invented to keep children of all
ages occupied. Generations of kids have spent countless hours with crayons and
color books or blank pieces of paper. The wide array of colors at their
disposal has inspired youngsters to use their active imaginations to create
works of art to be displayed on refrigerators across the country. Once kids are
able to read the names of colors on their crayons, they could become bewildered
by some of the more obscure words. Here are 10 of the most oddly named crayons
and why they are so intriguing.
- Magenta – Many people have heard of a
magenta colored sky, but where did that brilliant red color get its name?
It’s actually the name of a town in Italy where the Battle of Magenta was
fought in the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859. The dye of that
color was discovered the same year and named after that battle alluding to
the profusion of blood that was shed.
- Teal
blue – Most people can
picture the bright teal blue color similar to turquoise, but do they know
where it comes from? Unless you a waterfowl expert or hunter, you’ve
probably never heard of a Blue Winged Teal. This small dabbling duck has
bright blue patches on its wings that inspired the name of this crayon.
- Periwinkle – This light purplish blue color
actually has two different sources. I’ve always thought it represented the
flowers of the periwinkle plant, but it also is the name of small sea
snail used for food in Europe. Who knew?
- Cornflower – The deep vivid blue of the
cornflower crayon was one of my favorites as a child, but I could never
figure out what the blue flowers had to do with corn. Otherwise known as
Bachelor’s Buttons, these plants grew like weeds among corn and other
grain crops in England.
- Cerulean – This oddly named crayon can be a
bit over the head of small children, literally. The deep blue color of
cerulean is similar to azure and gets its origins from the sky. Various
artists like to use this obscure name for blue to sound sophisticated and
cultured.
- Bittersweet – The name of this crayon probably
originated from the bittersweet vine which is a climbing plant of the
nightshade family. The berries of this plant achieve a wide range of
shades from green to red as they ripen and this orange-brown color is in
there somewhere. More commonly known as an emotion, the bittersweet color
is a bit of an enigma.
- Mulberry – The dark purplish red color of
mulberries is the inspiration for another oddly named crayon. Children who
have never seen an actual mulberry at least know what color it should be.
Childhood nursery rhymes also clued us in that mulberries must grow on
bushes.
- Raw
sienna – What an exotic
name for a crayon. Raw sienna actually originates from the color of the
earth near the town of Siena Italy. The brownish hue of this color
represents the earth’s tone in its natural state.
- Burnt
sienna – On the other
hand, burnt sienna refers to the same earth after it has been baked in the
sun. As an adult the name of this crayon brings to mind vivid images of
the sun baked terrain of Italy, but as a child I had no idea why this
reddish brown color was called burnt sienna.
- Sepia – In classical times everyone knew
that sepia was a dark brown colored ink obtained from the secretions of
cuttlefish, but modern children would have no idea where the name of that
crayon came from. It’s hard to imagine ink coming from a fish instead of
being produced in a factory.
The vast spectrum of
colors available to us today is mass produced in factories from a variety of
chemicals and dyes. How fascinating that Crayola used the natural sources of
these colors to name so many of their crayons. Hopefully children’s curiosity
will inspire them to investigate why their crayons have such funny names. It
could be a great learning experience for them, their parents and possibly their
teachers as well.
Contacts and sources:
Paul Taylor
http://www.babysittingjobs.com/blog/the-10-most-oddly-named-crayon-colors-and-why/
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